'Either we do this thing together or else it doesn't happen at all'

John Moor and Amy Quinn have accomplished a lot with only two of five votes in 15 months. Their formula is simple: listen to the public, research the issue, apply common sense, take action.

If more of government worked that way, government might have a better reputation. Convention Hall is open, a sprinkler system is being installed. Police officers are out of their cars and walking the streets. Over $1 million in unbilled developer taxes are in the process to be recovered, backlogs of unpaid fines getting recovered too. A parking consultant is working up a comprehensive city-wide plan to address the parking problem. A newly-hired attorney is targeting abandoned properties and code violations. The about-to-be-delivered website will bring us into the 21st century with downloadable forms and online payments. Redevelopment is resuming with two ground-up projects and conversion of the Salvation Army building into a hotel.

Is there lots more to do? Yes. And a vote for Asbury Together on Nov. 4 is a vote for further progress. John and Amy have chosen well-qualified running mates who are devoted to public service and reflect the diversity that makes this city great. Jesse Kendle has been dedicated to the city’s youth for decades. Joe Woerner has lead the fight to preserve Bradley Cove as public space. Yvonne Clayton is forgoing the peace and quiet of retirement to give back to her hometown and the southwest neighborhood where she lives, with a special passion for seeing Springwood Avenue restored to its former glory.

If you give these five people your vote on election day they will work tirelessly to see Asbury Park achieve its full potential. And their opponents? Please, go to AsburyParkTV.org and watch last week’s debate. A-Team candidates repeatedly cited $500,000 condos near the beach as if such development is bad for the city generally and comes directly at the expense of the city’s poor. Either they have no grasp of economics, or have chosen to elevate rhetoric over reason. Our waterfront is the goose that laid the golden egg. No matter where you go in the world property closer to a waterfront is more valuable. City council’s role is to leverage that value and find ways to make it benefit the entire community. You can’t tell potential developers “you must build your project on such and such a block or else we don’t want your investment in Asbury Park at all.” If such an ideology starts running city hall, investment will flee and we will go backwards.

I don’t own a $500,000 condo near the beach, but I sure hope city council keeps pursuing policies that encourage waterfront development, within reason and based on market demand, and at the same time patiently pursue strategies for revitalizing other parts of the city that represent a greater challenge.

It’s not one or the other; it has to be both. Either we do this thing together or else it doesn’t happen at all.

The key word is together. Asbury Together on election day.

[This letter represents the opinion of its writer and is not representative of any opinion of the Asbury Park Sun staff. All readers are welcome to submit Letters to the Editor to [email protected] for our consideration. For guidelines on letter-writing and submission, click here.]